Reaction to Men's NCAA Tourney Seeds

Yet again it's time to dust off the ole Circumcised Penis Index (CPI) to determine how the committee faired.

Someone hates Butler
The most glaring atrocity is Butler getting a #7 seed. My brother and I spent an hour yelling at each other over this injustice and we agreed! Butler was 29-3 and beat numerous big conference bubble teams. They lost to a very good Drake team and two of their conference's top teams, both on the road. They should have been much higher, maybe even a 4 seed.

Butler, South Alabama, Gonzaga, Davidson = Screwed
It was astounding that after all of the recent mid-major success, the teams in those conferences got screwed royally again. There were only six at large bids awarded to non-major conference teams. Butler's 7 seed is a tragedy, but they have to face a South Alabama team that was also underrated. So both teams are screwed. It doesn't help Butler that the game is in Alabama. Man, that makes me so angry. Gonzaga was also a 7 seed and they face Davidson who is a 10 seed. Both teams are underrated, particularly Davidson who has won 22 in row. There is no way Arkansas (9 seed), Texas A&M (9), Mississippi State (8), or Miami FL (7) would have gone 20-0 in the Southern Conference or 26-6 overall with Davidson's schedule. Three of those loses were to North Carolina (by 4), to Duke (by 6) and to UCLA (by 12). The sad thing for Gonzaga is they play in North Carolina, the home state of opponent Davidson.


Mid-major Blood Bath
There are so many games featuring mid-major teams, it must have been deliberate. I mentioned the two matchups above where I would be content if all teams were two seeds higher. UNLV meets Kent St. in an 8-9, and Drake plays Western Kentucky in a 5-12. If you've watched these teams, you know that they could beat a major conference team of the same seed as their opponent. Instead, the mid-majors will beat themselves up in the first round. I have thought of the possibility that this actually guarantees some mid-majors will be in the second round. But the mid-majors would win against power conference teams anyway. In addition, I'd move up all but Drake, who got a fair seed.

Up and Down
So who would I knock down a few seeds? UCONN down from a 4. Oklahoma down from a 6. Marquette down from a 6. Miami FL down from a 7. Mississippi St. down from an 8. Arkansas down from a 9. Who am I moving up besides those above? West Virginia up from a 7. St. Mary's up from a 10. Cal St. Fullerton up from a 14.

You're Out
There are some teams that I can't believe made it in. Villanova should not have made it. There is no way Arizona should have made it. They were 8-10 in the conference. VCU was 15-3 in their conference. It's true that the top of the Pac 10 is better than the top of the CAA and the bottom of the CAA is worse than the bottom of the Pac 10, but there is far more overlap than the major conferences would like to admit. Winning 7 more conference games than another team should count for something. Oregon also should not have made it. Baylor is the prime example of a team that shouldn't get in. Their only major non-conference win was against Notre Dame. They only beat Kansas State in the conference, stacking up wins against weaker Big 12 opponents. I'm not convinced Kansas St should be in either, but I digress. Baylor was 9-7 in the conference and 21-10 overall with only two wins of note. How is that better than a team with a much better record? The system is fixed against mid majors.

Kentucky has a terrible record but were 12-4 in conference. I can see a case for them to be in. But they should have gotten a worse seed than 11. I don't think there's anything wrong with giving an at large team a 13 or 14 seed if that's what they deserve.

Favorites and Locals
George Mason got a 12 seed and will face Notre Dame. If we can stop their perimeter game, I like our chances. The 12 seed is a bit disappointing, but we're in a good spot in the bracket. Kansas State got an 11 seed and we beat them, but of course that doesn't matter, that would make too much sense. Georgetown got a 2 seed. That's what the Hoyas deserve, but I don't like the potential second round matchup. It's either an underrated Gonzaga team or an underrated Davidson team near their home. I also don't like that DC area teams will face off early. Six area teams made it and Georgetown plays UMBC while Mount St. Mary's faces Coppin State in the opening round game. The other team is American.

Championship Week
Championship week was exciting as usual. I was very impressed by Georgia's run into the tournament. I don't believe teams with such a poor record should have the opportunity to play into the NCAA tournament, but I can't take anything away from Georgia's run, winning two games on Saturday, because of a tornado delay, and winning again today. Miami OH should be very proud of their season. They gave Kent State quite the scare in the MAC semifinal. Tim Pollitz left a little floater just a bit short at the end of the game that would have sent it into overtime. They dictated tempo against a very talented Kent State team and nearly pulled off the upset.